First of all, I want to thank everyone who replied either on- or off- list.
Lots of great ideas out there and, as usual, at least one that I hadn't
thought of before. At least one person asked "How's it going?" so I thought
an update might be appropriate.
I've taken the liberty to include the second e-mail w/ the compression test
results. Turns out, this was really a "dry" test of an engine that hasn't
been run for several years. #8 is obviously low, so I focused my attention
there.
First, I checked for a worn cam. I intended to set up a dial indicator but
after eyeballing it for a couple of cycles, it appeared to be lifting as
high and the duration was as long as the other cylinders on that bank. I
can't completely discount a worn cam, but it wasn't obviously the problem.
Next, I tried a wet compression test on #8. A couple shots of motor oil
brought the pressure up to ~65psi. So, it appears that I was losing ~20psi
around the rings, but the biggest culprit is probably a bad valve at around
30-40psi loss. Several people suggested a bleed down test, but I don't have
the equipment at home and the car is on jack stands and not running at the
moment so I haven't really given that any serious thought.
OK, so where to next? I've been fighting ship-wrights disease since I
started this and it's been a losing battle so far. I'm rebuilding the
bottom end as the bearings were almost completely down to brass (silver
colored material worn away) and the timing chain had about 4-degrees of play
in it. I'm running a little short of time as I will be moving soon and will
need to ship the car before we travel; so, I'm debating weather to finish it
up right or just button it up now with the new bearings, timing chain,
belts, hoses, rewired harnesses, rebuilt starter, and overhauled carbs and
see how it runs. (Dang, it's almost a new engine now!) The deciding
factors will undoubtedly be time and money (go figure).
Thanks again for all of the advice. It's really appreciated.
Cheers
Chris Sharp
'64 Spitfire4
'80 TR8
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris & Kelly Sharp [mailto:4sharps@cox.net]
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 4:37 PM
To: Rover V8 Mail List Members; TR8 Mail List Members
Subject: The continuing saga
Fellow Wedge-ophiles-
What started as a "just get it going and enjoy" has now turned a little
sour. The results from my compression test are in and not pretty....
1 95
2 105
3 112
4 100
5 120
6 95
7 100
8 45 (yes, 45...)
(sigh)
I was hoping to get away w/ a bearing and timing chain swap but now I guess
I'm going to have to spring for the big chicken dinner. Since the oil pan
was off, I peeked up into the cylinders and they don't appear to be scored,
which is somewhat comforting.
I've been through this before w/ several engines, but I'm still not real
comfortable w/ the all aluminum Rover engine. If this was just another rat
motor, I'd just hone the pistons, re-ring, and maybe a valve job. Any
chance of getting away with that on this motor or should I just plan on
yanking the block and building it up from scratch. Any experiences in this
would be appriciated about now.
Chris Sharp
'64 Spitfire4 At least it runs
'80 TR8 Quickly becoming a money pit....
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